Segmenting is Stupid

Segmenting makes perfect sense when it comes to your customer list. It doesn’t make sense when it comes to your brand.

The key to a strong brand is having a clear position. Not positions, but one single position. It’s the bull’s eye. That said, I bet you have some customers who were attracted to you for reasons other than your stated position. I bet you have customers that don’t at all resemble the target market that your position seeks to attract. Fine. Take what you get regardless of why.

The danger is in letting the variety make you think you should over-extend your brand. If you sell dress shoes, and many of your customers are athletes, it’s tempting to think that you could create a tennis shoe for athletes and be hugely successful. But we all know that wouldn’t work; it would backfire. The athletes wouldn’t buy your athletic shoes because you are positioned in their mind as a good dress shoe. Except now, they’re probably rethinking that, because you’ve stretched yourself too thin.

Brand Extensions are a Crutch

The ignorant like “brand extensions” and “segmenting” because it doesn’t require a commitment. It doesn’t involve neglecting a market. It doesn’t force you to make a decision. It’s a crutch.

The thing is, if you can’t commit or neglect or decide, then you can’t have a position.

When you’re in a meeting, and colleagues start trying to put a finger on the real essence of the brand, and no one agrees, and someone has the amazing idea that you should launch a brand extension or segmented campaign, calmly get out of your chair, slap them across the face and tell them “That’s a stupid idea.” Let them wonder why.

It should leave a lasting impression. And save your business from a bad mistake.

Remember, crutches are used when something is broken. If you can fix it, then why bother with the crutch?

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